Wellington Phoenix are scheduled to resume their A-League campaign on July 17 against top-of-the-table Sydney FC, but the club is still awaiting clearance to re-enter Australia.
Newshub understands that decision is expected to be made on Tuesday, but a frustrated general manager David Dome has expressed his disappointment in the length of the process.
A-League boss Greg O'Rourke denies the Phoenix have been left behind, insisting the process has been more vexing than that followed by NRL rugby league, which resumed competition last month.
"We're also talking about bringing players back from other parts of the world," he says. "We're talking about bringing a player back from Mexico, we're talking about bringing a player back from the UK.
"These are two current COVID-19 hotspots, so we need to talk about what to do there.
"We also had to find a quarantine facility that was suitable - we've landed at the Football New South Wales facility, which we think is really good.
"It's not ideal that we're sitting here today, saying we're about 24-48 hours away, but to say we left them behind is also not accurate."
Once the clearance is granted, the Phoenix squad hopes to assemble in Sydney as quickly as possible. Most are based in Wellington, with six players in Australia, Ulises Davilla in Mexico and Gary Hooper currently home in the UK.
The third-placed Phoenix have six games to complete before a likely playoff appearance, with the season expected to conclude on August 22, but no later than August 31.
The Phoenix are currently riding a four-game winning streak, with second-place league finish well and truly in sight.
Their last match was a 3-0 hammering of Melbourne Victory on March 15, before the league halted, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Their remaining fixtures will likely all be played in Australia, although their playoff fixtures could be played back in New Zealand, if the trans-Tasman bubble is confirmed.
